caged liberty

I am a 36 year old British expat mom with 3 kids- two teens and a toddler, currently living in Michigan,USA. I have always been the 'big boned' one in the family so I have never known what 'skinny' feels like. I managed to keep my weight steady for almost seventeen years (drifting around130-135lbs)but recently I have just exploded to almost 160lbs.

Looking for great friends and great recipes and someone to share my weight loss journey with. Would love to find friends in Mid-Michigan if possible.

caged liberty's Latest Posts

I`m desperate. What should I do?
I am surprised that you even asked this question because the answer is so obviously what everyone else is saying. This leads me to believe that you have so personal issues you need to deal with, greater than a lousy boyfriend.

I would suggest you try to work on your self esteem and confidence because you are obviously lacking in both.

You lost your husband and you are still surviving. If you lose the boyfriend, sure it will be hard but then you will get on with your life. I always say that the harder decision is usually the right one and the harder to action.

You need to find confidence in yourself to be able to make decisions based on what is right in the long run, not just short term happiness. You know that this boyfriend will not make you happy in the long run and probably is just hanging around until the next best thing. Learn to be strong and do what is the best for you, not others.

Good luck..and be strong!!

posted 06 Sep 2008, 01:11

SCALES
Personally, I think that most digital scales are the same. One advice I can give is to go to websites where weighing scales are sold and read reviews. Also, shop around for good deals. My scales were $50 on clearance at a website. The same identical scales were being sold for $100 on another major shopping portal.

I am not suggesting you go out and buy Ironman series (btw..there are several Ironman models) as it may suffice to buy a cheaper model and still get an accurate reading. However, cheaper models will only tell weight. If you are looking for a model that has other gimmicks like body weight,then you will have to spend a little more. I do believe that those gimmicks actually work but cant vouch for accuracy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Keeping a food diary -- a detailed account of what you eat and drink and the calories it packs -- is a powerful tool in helping people lose weight, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.ADVERTISEMENT

The study involving 1,685 middle-aged men and women over six months found those who kept such a diary just about every day lost about twice as much weight as those who did not.

The findings buttressed earlier research that endorsed the value of food diaries in helping people lose weight. Companies including Weight Watchers International Inc use food diaries in their weight-loss programs.

"For those who are working on weight loss, just writing down everything you eat is a pretty powerful technique," Victor Stevens of Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland said in a telephone interview.

"It helps the participants see where the extra calories are coming from, and then develop more specific plans to deal with those situations," said Stevens, who helped lead the study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The technique also helps hold dieters accountable for what they are eating, Stevens said.

The study involved people from four U.S. cities: Portland, Oregon; Baltimore, Maryland; Durham, North Carolina; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Their average weight loss was about 13 pounds (6 kg). But those keeping food diaries six or seven days a week lost about 18 pounds (8 kg) compared to 9 pounds (4 kg) for those not regularly keeping a food diary.

The average age of people in the study was 55.

They were asked to eat less fat, more vegetables, fruit and whole grains, exercise 180 minutes a week mostly by walking, attend group meetings, and keep a detailed food diary.

Blacks made up 44 percent of the people in the study. The researchers noted that blacks Americans have a higher risk than whites for conditions linked to obesity including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

"Keeping a food diary doesn't have to be a formal thing. Just the act of scribbling down what you eat on a Post-It note, sending yourself e-mails tallying each meal or sending yourself a text message will suffice," Dr. Keith Bachman, another Kaiser Permanente expert, said in a statement.

SCALES
I have a Tanita Iron man series. In addition to weight, it provides body fat, water percentage and calories burned. I cant vouch for the accuracy of the 'extras', but the weight is accurate.

One method of testing a weighing scales accuracy is to use household food items to test the scales. For example, a 1lb bag of sugar should show up as exactly 1lb on your scales. I have done this with several products and discovered that even though my weighing scales are accurate, the product may not be. The biggest culprits were food items from overseas (Chinese and Indian foods in particular!)

A tip for using the body fat feature etc..is to weigh yourself in the evening to calculate your body fat index. Use the scales first thing in the morning with no clothes on for the most accurate weight record.

posted 02 Jul 2008, 14:43

Non Vegetarian Diet
Hi, I am not an Indian, but South Asian. The only way to have Indian food on Atkins is non vegetarian so you shouldnt have any problems.

Some of the stuff I make are:

Shami kebabs (ground chicken/meat patties)

Seekh kebabs (minced meat kebabs)

Chicken Tikka (Grilled/Barbequed chicken)

Lamb chops

After the first few weeks, I started eating whatever was cooked at home, just taking out the chicken/meat portions.

My friend lost a lot of weight just eating the food above for a couple of weeks. It does becoming a little monotonous but for fast weight loss it really does work.